Dubai

We've had 4 days in Dubai. It is a city unlike anything we have encountered so far. There is nothing very glamorous about its history, as we discovered at the museums we visited. In fact, 50 years ago, it looked to be a very uninviting place - just a motley collection of buildings at the mouth of a shallow tidal creek. And with a climate which gets so hot and humid (coincidentally at the very time of year we are here) that it's not smart to be outside too much. Never below 30C and often above 40C.



But Dubai provides the lesson of how money can transform a place with such limited natural attractions. Now it is a city of stunning architecture, massive entertainment attractions and shopping malls which rank among the largest and most glamorous in the world. The only thing they couldn't quite fix was the climate - but aircon is everywhere.



Dubai is vibrant and surprisingly diverse. We've learnt that only 10% of the people here are "locals". Everyone else is a tourist or an expat worker. The local Emirati are out and about in their traditional garb, the men in long white robes and headgear secured with ropes traditionally used to constrain their camels (though most of them don't get around on camels any more), and the women in their flowing black gowns and veils, perhaps accessorized with high heels and a flash of pink. We took some time to visit one of the mosques and learn more about their religious practices, political system and way of life. We thought it was about time we understood why we get blasted out of bed by the first call to prayer at around 4:30 am each day. It was a rewarding experience to be able to have the dialogue and ask questions about the Islamic way - but much more still to learn.

On the lighter side, we visited the Burj al Arab, a spectacular sail-shaped high rise hotel which is one of the defining buildings of Dubai. The interior with dancing fountains, techno lighting and a 27 storey atrium was slightly kitsch compared to the elegance of the exterior. But there was no doubt about the hotel's opulence and the luxury with which the guests are treated - not surprising with room rates starting at USD 1,000 (we had other plans so we couldn't spend the night there).

We also took a desert safari. Yes, we've done a few of these now in different countries. The Dubai version is less authentic, more entertainment. A good part of it was spent careering around the sand dunes in a 4WD at what seemed very high speeds and very precarious angles. We loved it. Now we know just what those 4WDs are capable of. Then some camel riding (very painful in all the wrong places), the opportunity to dress up like a Bedouin, dance with a belly dancer and eat an Arabian barbeque meal, albeit accompanied with Chinese won-tons. An entertaining tourist experience.

Then there was the day at the mall. We went to Mall of the Emirates, one of the big ones - not so much for the shoppng but for the ski slope. Here is one of the largest indoor artificial ski slopes anywhere. The idea of skiing in snow in an arid desert environment was too much to resist. We both took a lesson. I'm not sure that my skiing skills improved but Mercedes was spinning 360's.

And we dedicated one evening to visiting the souqs - the gold souq is particularly well-known, but there were neighbouring souqs for textiles, spices, vegetables. They are close to the edge of the creek and they really come alive at night. The creek itself was crowded with boats. We crossed from one side to the other on small ferries, which jostled and nudged each other with no fear of capsize.

Next we move on to Abu Dhabi, just two hours south of Dubai by bus. Our overall impression of Dubai - a city which is proof of what seemingly limitless wealth and global aspiration can achieve.

Simon

Instructions to get a UAE visa

1) You have a passport from a Gulf country, or some developed nation that is friendly with the sheiks. If you have an Argentinean passport, go to #2

2) You apply for a visa at the UAE embassy in your own country. If you are travelling around the world and are nowhere near Argentina, go to #3

3) You go to a UAE embassy in whichever country you are at the moment. If you are in Jordan, this is not going to be of much help, go to #4

4) You go to Emirates Airlines' office, because you've heard that they would process a visa for you, if you "FlyEmirates". However, they require a sponsor. If you don't have one, go to #5

5) You need a sponsor. You email all your friends in the UAE and grudgingly ask for the big favor. Being a sponsor involves filling forms and making all sorts of financial disclosure. If your friends in the UAE are MIA and don't reply to your emails anymore, go to #6

6) You try to contact a hotel in Dubai. They want your business, so if you stay with them, they'll be your sponsor. If you are not willing to make a $5000 deposit, pay $400 a night for accommodation, and a non-refundable visa sponsoring fee of $200 (and btw, after all this, there's no guarantee that they can get a visa for a non-married woman), go to #7

7) By now, you have basically run out of options. But somebody tells you to go check with Royal Jordanian airline. You go to the first office in Amman, they send you to another one. Finally you meet with their UAE visa representative that has a secret direct line to the UAE immigration office. You book your flights with Royal Jordanian, leave a $600 deposit, pay a non-refundable processing fee of $40, and wait for their reply. After a few days of silence, you insist. The representative that helped you originally is not there anymore, but you find somebody else that sends you an email with a one-page attachment that says "visa" and has your personal details on it. Print that page, fly to Dubai, and go to #8

8) You land in Dubai airport and approach immigration with your printout. While waiting in line, you feel uneasy, not sure of what will happen. You go through not one, but two queues where officers review your documents, and use modern equipment to take pictures and scannings. Thank God (or Allah, probably), there are faster lines for women only. Finally, you are in! They stamped your passport, and you walk into the UAE. Easy.

Mercedes

Around Muscat and Al-Batinah region - "Goodbye Oman, we'll miss you"

We visited enough forts and wadis (valleys) for them to become our lasting image of Oman.
Other lasting memories will be:
- men dressing in white and women in black. Another example of how men got the better end of the deal: they go about in their light long dresses called 'dishdashas', while women are wrapped around layers of black, in most cases including a veil that only leaves the face uncovered. In the heat of the summer, it looks overwhelming
- notably, everybody smells good. Maybe it is that little rope hanging from the dishdasha's collar that they soak in perfume
- lots of immigrant workers, especially Indian and Filipino, everywhere
- most cars are white; camouflage vehicles are sandy beige (without much vegetation around, they need the color of sand, instead of green and brown)
- Muscat is an extremely clean city
- everybody drives around. With the heat, very few people find a reason to leave the a/c in their cars. It is like the US, in a way, lots of large SUVs. Petrol is cheap, at USD0.30 per liter.
- everybody loves His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos
- and most of all, we'll remember the Omanis' hospitality and generosity. We didn't find anybody being rude to us, everybody tried to help, everybody smiled. So nice.

We are waiting for our flight to Dubai. Technically, I have a visa, but it seems to be quite hard to enter the UAE with an Argentinean passport. Anything can happen. We'll see.
Mercedes

Omani hospitality

Today we experienced something for the first time in our travels: Simon and I went to Rustaq to see a famous fort. It was around 2pm, so after the fort we looked for a restaurant to eat. Like in most Omani towns, siesta takes over after 1pm and we couldn't find any shop open. Finally we found a small restaurant where we ordered a couple of chicken sandwiches. As we were waiting for our food, a complete stranger who had already finished his meal introduced himself in broken English asking if we were tourists. We spoke for 2 minutes: he told us the name of his hometown and we told him our itinerary. Then he paid for our meal and gave us his phone number in case we needed anything. Just like that. First time a complete stranger pays anything for us.
Omanis are generous and hospitable like nobody else.
Mercedes

Sur and Sharqiya Region

We spent the last couple of days in the Sharqiya region. Activities included:
- we went to giant sand dunes. Our driver enjoyed showing us how his 4WD was able to climb up and slide down the hills of sand. Quite scary at times. We stopped at a colorful bedouin house in the desert where 2 kids invited us to coffee and dates for free (photo)
- on a full moon night we went to the beach at Ras Al-Jinz where we saw 1m-long sea turtles climb up the beach, dig a hole, lay an average 100 eggs, exhausted cover them up with sand slowly, and go back to the sea. The entire affair takes 2 hours. Quite moving to watch these poor turtles through labour. Cameras and lights are not allowed and guides make sure turtles are not disturbed (too much). We also saw the babies coming out of the sand after approx 3 months. They are tiny, less than 10cm. They say that these turtles travel as far as Australia but they always come back to lay eggs on the same beach they hatched. Mystery.
- we stayed overnight in Sur. It has a nice waterfront and tasty seafood (photo)
- we stopped in Qalhat for a picture of the ruins of Bibi Miriam's tomb
- Oman is the country of "wadis", the valleys between mountains carved by water on its way downhill. Some of them have water permanently, but most of them are dry. Until it rains. Even though it doesn't rain a lot, the water seems to be incredibly strong and to take roads and anything else standing on its way. These gorges are very deep and the walls make steep cliffs. The most beautiful ones are those where there's water running permanently. We stopped at several of these for lunch picnics and a swim. It feels so strange to be swimming in these oasis of fresh water inside barren mountains. Anyway, Oman is so hot, there's never enough bathing to keep you cool (Photos of Wadi Tiwi and Wadi Shab)
- we were near the sea, so we also took a dip at a white sand beach called Fins. A clean beach completely empty except for one other family of tourists. There are no facilities, no boats, no locals and not many visitors. You can swim practically by yourself. Feels like paradise. (photo)
- we even stopped at a huge sinkhole in Bimmah. A green water hole of 40m x 20m several meters deep. It is approx 1km inland from the sea and the water is a little salty. I've never seen a hole like that, it looks like a deep crater (photos)
- lastly, Said, our driver invited us to his home before dropping us at our hotel in Muscat. So generous, his wife prepared tea and cookies. Omanis are incredibly hospitable.
Mercedes

Nizwa and Al-Dakhiliyah region

We found a 4WD and a driver, Said, and headed south from Muscat. We visited:
-small villages with mud-brick houses and little farms with fruit trees, including refreshing "falaj", the traditional irrigation channels
-a well-renovated 17th century castle called Jabrin
-towns with old city walls like Bahla
-up from the tallest mountain called Jebel Shams we spotted the "Grand Canyon" of Oman, and
-Nizwa's souq, fort and mosque.
Despite the always present haze and the oppressive heat (40+ degrees C), we enjoyed the picturesque landscapes. A car with a/c helps a lot.
Mercedes

Muscat - clean and new

It seems that Oman opened up to the world in the 70s and since then it's been a boom of growth and development. Buildings look new and there are cranes everywhere. If this is Oman, I don't know what to expect of the UAE.

Muscat is the cleanest city I've ever been to. Perched between barren brown mountains and the blue sea, the city is very photogenic. It must be expensive, but they managed to grow and maintain manicured lawns in parks and roadsides, adding a needed touch of green. For example, look at Simon's picture in Al-Riyam park. It's completely green, you would never guess that it is in a desert-like environment.

There are several forts dating from even before the Portuguese arrived. Although Muscat has been here for centuries, forts are the few historical landmarks you can see. One of the pictures shows the sultan's palace. Not sure when it was built, but it has a 70s touch to it. Very original.
Also we visited the grand mosque built by current Sultan Qaboos, which opened in 2001. It is breathtaking. The floor of the main hall is covered with the largest carpet in the world.

It is so hot during the day that we changed our schedules. We wake up early, go to sights, come back to the hotel for air-conditioned siesta, and out again after the heat comes down. Even at night it is around 30 degrees C. Crazy.
Tomorrow we'll start a tour to the mountains and the sand dunes.
Mercedes


PS: Roger Federer is the best tennis player of all times. Huge!

Amman

Amman was called Philadelphia in greco-roman times. A theatre, pillars of a temple of Hercules and a public square are among the remainings from those times. On top of a hill we visited the ruins of a citadel from the islamic period around 8th century. The main attraction is an entrance hall that is quite well preserved, and the views of the city.
We spent as little time as possible around the ruins, and more time in air-conditioned museums. It is SO HOT.
This is our goodbye to Jordan, tonight Royal Jordanian will be taking us to Muscat. Weather-wise, I don't think it is going to get any cooler...
Mercedes

Dead Sea & Jerash

It is true, you can't sink in the Dead Sea. The proof: Simon was able to put his arms and legs up for the picture. The water is a little oily and warm, so it is not the most pleasant at the beginning, but after a while you get used to it. I even started dozing off while floating. We were at a paid public beach called Amman Beach, which had facilities, i.e. showers (absolutely required to rinse off the salt), chairs for rent, convenience store, etc. I waited for a while to check other women's clothing etiquette before going in. But after a long while I could only see male bathers. So I decided to be conservative and went into the water fully clothed, just to be followed 5 minutes later by two random Argentineans in bikinis. Anyway...

Today we spent the day in Jerash, where the ruins of the old roman city of Gerasa remain. We could see a lot of things quite well preserved: various temples (and later byzantine churches), two theaters, a main oval plaza surrounded by columns, an 800m main colonnated road with original pavement, a fountain (not working, it was oppressively dry and hot:), city gates, a bath house, a hippodrome, etc. We were able to make out a bustling city. This place is north of Amman, an area with rolling hills, significantly greener than the rest of the country.

Tomorrow Thursday will spend the day in Amman, and later fly to Muscat in the evening. Can we get a little break from the heat?

Mercedes

Wadi Rum

After a second half day in Petra to explore more of the "High Places", we continued our road trip down the King's Highway (a sealed road with seemingly endless speed humps and police checkpoints to slow our progress). By the middle of the afternoon, we had reached Wadi Rum, a unique and specially protected desert area - home territory of the legendary Lawrence of Arabia. The desert landscape here was certainly different from that which we had encountered previously. Towering rock formations punctuated an otherwise flat and arid desert floor. Bright red sand dunes around the base of the rocks contrasted with the muted yellows and browns of the flatter areas.

We were soon on board a 4WD for an entertaining few hours visiting some of the key sights in Wadi Rum. Our driver was maybe 13 years old and he was out to have a good time too. Some of the sights were associated with the adventures of Lawrence of Arabia. Others were of geological interest - rock "bridges" formed high above the floor (great for climbing), long rock canyons and sand dunes (great for jumping down). We ended our 4WD adventure watching the sun set over the desert ... and then helping to push start the vehicle to get us to our overnight stop, a Bedouin camp far out in the desert.

The camp was a tent complex with sleeping mats and blankets. We enjoyed a traditional Bedouin meal - some sort of chicken and vegetables in a stew accompanied by rice and bread. Not bad. Then time to sleep. The striking feature was the absolute silence of the desert. And the temperature change - we certainly needed those blankets during the night.

Next morning, we came back to the relative civilization of Wadi Rum township. But we were not done. We felt that we needed a little more of the desert experience. We found a hiking trail which took us back out into the desert, around the Seven Pillars of Wisdom referred to in Lawrence of Arabia. The hike was hard work. Hot and dry in the blistering sand. Plus some rock climbs for which Mercedes showed special aptitude with only slip-ons on her feet. We had trouble finding the trail in a few places too. We made it back to the car in three hours - and we were both exhausted.

From Wadi Rum, we headed on to Aqaba, Jordan's only port town. A smaller town than we expected but with a surprisingly big history. And ferocious temperatures.

Simon